Summary
AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS is another fantastic achievement with Greg Whiteley, and it’s no longer a coincidence. Whiteley is the GOAT of sports documentaries.
The main takeaway from AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is that being part of the team of dancers is not necessarily some popularity contest for your eager Instagram followers. It’s about being part of a prestigious community that has been ingrained into the sporting club and its affiliates for decades. The documentary series respects the Cheerleading sport, something we’ve seen before on Netflix.
There’s a Message Here about Cheerleading and Perspective
AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Credit – Netflix)
I’d find it surprising if anyone stepped away from this series with the same view they had before. I had a moment where I realized I was super zoned in on the training process behind auditioning for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys Cheerleading Team (DCC). It was at that moment I realized the series had won: I was compelled by the story. I had a vested interest in all these women who had put their lives on pause to enter a team of dancers for the equivalent of a retail wage.
But then, I had a moment of clarity: sports and athletics are wide-ranging in skill and direction, but the output is the same, and the variable is always hard work. The series has a lot to say about these dancers and the pressures of performing for an NFL team, and the filmmaking is so entrenched in the process that there’s an incredible understanding of the commitment to being part of it.
AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS puts a lot of energy and time behind the camera to document the process: from the online video auditions to the in-person auditions to the on-field auditions, to making it to training camp, and finally, to making that all-important first game. Hours and hours of footage are given to up-close interviews, emotional breakdowns, injuries, and the personal lives of dancers.
This is not a surface-level, quickly archived documentary series put together in a churning editing room; it’s an experience. The series delves into the Dallas Cowboys Club community spirit, the team’s sisterhood, and the cheerleading team’s history that comes with such respect and status. The DCC is not just an extracurricular activity for these women, which this documentary proves. It becomes your life; you enter the history books; it’s a privilege to be part of it. I would never have known any of this if the drum did not beat at an in-depth level.
There’s a Constant Variable in these Documentaries, and that’s Greg Whiteley
AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Credit – Netflix)
But I’m not surprised that AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders inspired and provided an elevated level of emotional interest. It’s time to consider Greg Whiteley (who is one of the few people behind this series as director) as the best sports documentary creator of all time. His formula is unmatched and unchallenged to a level I suspect will never be beaten. He could do a multi-episode feature on Aircraft Spotting, and he’d somehow make it enticing. He has a craft and personal angle to all his work that can always be trusted.
What Greg’s projects do, regardless of who gets involved, is film as if it were a story, not a factual documented event. The camera is seemingly not off limits: if there’s an opportunity or an interesting personal angle, it will be taken. From recording a cheerleader doing her nursing job to being in their home as they sort their food prep, Greg Whiteley has managed to gain a level of trust that’s paramount to his work, even if it involves the mundanity of someone’s life. It’s personal and intimate, and once you absorb and learn about each person involved, they become characters rather than subjects. I’ve been impressed with his work since day one: he has not held back since Last Chance U, a series that earned him plaudits.
AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders gave me the opportunity to recall another impressive project that Whiteley was also a part of, and that’s Cheer. College cheerleading is equally competitive, and I’d advise you to watch that before this series, purely because you’ll be able to sense a maturity gap between both works.
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders examines women entering adulthood and wanting to be part of something for legacy, whereas Cheer examines competitive cheerleading at college, which comes with a whole host of drama. The gap is fascinating as you witness the differences in attitude and perspective. Whiteley obviously has a vested interest in cheerleading, but putting respect on the craft is a hard feat that he’s achieved.
Whether AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS is better is a moot point at this stage. The Whiteley collection of sports documentaries is so consistent that I’d happily be a viewer of the formula forever. All I will say is that you will be emotionally invested and surprised by the lives of these women: seven hours will pass by easily as the stories rope you in. And it may feel like I am being disrespectful to the others involved in this project. I’m not trying to be. All I’ve done is analyze a pattern: every time Whitely is involved, it’s a smash hit.
